State news briefs

DEPUTIES SAY SOUTHERN CAL MAN TORCHED FAMILY DOG: CAMARILLO (AP) — Ventura County sheriff's and fire investigators say an 18-year-old has been arrested for dousing his family's dog with lighter fluid and setting it on fire in a ravine near their home.

Deputies say Andrew Delgado was arrested at his Camarillo home Thursday and admitted he was responsible for burning the dog on Oct. 27. According to a news release issued Friday, Delgado didn't say why he burned the 3-year-old basset hound named Buddy, but said he was under the influence of drugs when it happened. The dog died of its burns.

Delgado was booked for investigation of arson and animal cruelty. Bail is $35,000 and he's to appear in court Nov. 13.

LA-AREA GRAFFITI REMOVER SUSPECTED OF TAGGING: BURBANK (AP) — Burbank police say a former graffiti removal company employee painted himself into a corner when he allegedly tagged more than 100 sites, watching the paint dry then painting over the tags to create work for himself.

Medrano is accused of fraudulently billing the city more than $2,200 for the work.

Burbank city spokesman Drew Sugars says the company Medrano worked for, Graffiti Protective Coatings, Inc. has contracted with the city for more than six years, earning about $100,000 a year.

Company president Carla Lenhoff says Medrano has been fired and the company's own smart phone technology helped police solve the case after they noticed.

TEEN GETS JAIL FOR DUI STREET RACING DEATH: RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California teenager has been sentenced to a year in jail for the drunken driving street racing death of a passenger in his car.

On Friday 19-year-old Jesus Javier Gamez pleaded guilty to felony gross vehicular manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol.

Investigators say Gamez was drunk behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang during a 120 mph street race when he lost control of the car and skidded into a parked vehicle and a utility pole in March.

Gamez had minor injuries, but his 18-year-old passenger Ruben Terriquez was killed.

A Riverside judge sentenced him to jail, placed him on five years' probation and ordered him to pay $14,681 restitution as well as speak to students at three high schools.

A day after the verdict, the jury returned to court on Thursday and decided Officer Alex Tellez should pay an additional $90,000 himself. City officials, however, can choose to indemnify Tellez.

Police were investigating the 2009 armed robbery of a store where a son of 56-year-old Allen Harris worked.

Officers with a warrant went to the Harris apartment in Inglewood and arrested the son, who was never charged.

Harris was ordered to put his hands up, but he told the officers he couldn't comply because he was partially paralyzed.

He was then handcuffed.

FAMILY WINS $4.5 M IN WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT: BAKERSFIELD (AP) — A California family has been awarded $4.5 million in its wrongful death lawsuit against four Kern County Sheriff's deputies who allegedly beat the couple's son to death.

A Kern County jury on Tuesday found the deputies acted negligently, causing the death of Jose Lucero and serious emotional distress to his parents, who witnessed the beating.

The coroner ruled that Lucero, who was high on methamphetamine, died of cardiac arrest in December 2010 following police restraint. Family members also said Lucero had mental health issues.

Chief Deputy County Counsel Mark Nations says the jury's findings and the amount awarded to the family are excessive. He says the deputies' use of force was justified because Lucero was allegedly mistreating family members the night of the incident.

ARREST MADE IN RAPE OF WOMAN ON LA COUNTY BUS: LOS ANGELES (AP) — For 10 agonizing minutes, an 18-year-old mentally disabled woman was raped in the back of a near-empty Los Angeles County bus as it rolled past a state park and a cemetery and no one did anything about it.

Several passengers and the driver were apparently unaware that a crime was being committed in the 45-foot-long bus, but one person on board tried to alert the driver and was unsuccessful.

Authorities arrested Kerry Trotter, 20, on Friday thanks to an anonymous tip by someone who saw an image of the suspected attacker taken by a surveillance camera on the bus that was publicly released.

Trotter was booked for investigation of rape and was being held on $1 million bail, authorities said. It wasn't immediately known if he had retained an attorney.

Investigators said given that Trotter was standing up with his back to the front of the bus and the victim was sitting down that other passengers wouldn't know a rape happened.

GIRL BITTEN 6 TIMES AFTER STEPPING ON RATTLER NEST: EL CAJON (AP) — A San Diego County girl is recovering after she stepped into a rattlesnake nest and was bitten six times.

Vera Oliphant, 16, of El Cajon was visiting her uncle in Jamul on Oct. 27 when she went up a hill to get cellphone reception to call her mother.

The girl says she heard rattling as she stepped into a pile of weeds and twigs. She looked down and saw an adult rattler and five babies biting her foot.

Vera hobbled to the house and was driven to a hospital to receive antivenin. The girl says she lost consciousness four times and was in intensive care for several days. She'll return to school next week.

TEENS HELD FOR ALLEGED $274K IN GRAFFITI DAMAGE: VISTA (AP) — Two teenagers have been arrested for allegedly causing $274,000 worth of graffiti damage in San Diego County.

A 17-year-old boy and a 15-year-old, both from Vista, were arrested Thursday.

Authorities contend they tagged sidewalks, road signs, bus benches and other public property hundreds of times in the past seven months, leading to a small fortune in cleanup costs.